He told the Mail on Sunday: "We've got David Silva, who's won the World Cup and European Championship and I don't think you can get more experience than that. He hasn't come into training in tears after losing a match, of course not. None of us do that.

"When we beat United 6-1 in October, we didn't think we'd won the league. Players like David are level-headed all the way through, and if we show the overall level of consistency we've shown so far in the season, I'm sure we will push United all the way to the final game.

"At the start of the season we went on a 15-game unbeaten run, and who's to say we can't do that now. This is exactly why I came to City from Everton. It's the ideal scenario I imagined, battling it out with United for the title."